Long time Anti-Gun Advocate State Senator R.C. Soles, 74, shot one of two intruders at his home just outside Tabor City , N.C. about 5 p.m. Sunday, the prosecutor for the politician's home county said. The intruder, Kyle Blackburn, was taken to a South Carolina hospital, but the injuries were not reported to be life-threatening, according to Rex Gore, district attorney for Columbus, Bladen andBrunswick counties.. The State Bureau of Investigation and Columbus County Sheriff's Department are investigating the shooting, Gore said. Soles, who was not arrested,declined to discuss the incident Sunday evening. "I am not in a position to talk to you," Soles said by telephone. "I'm right in the middle of an investigation." The Senator, who has made a career of being against gun ownership for the general public, didn't hesitate to defend himself with his own gun when he believed he was in immediate danger and he was the victim. In typical hypocritical liberal fashion, the "Do as i say and not as i do" Anti-Gun Activist Lawmaker picked up his gun and took action in what apparently was a self-defense shooting. Why hypocritical you may ask? It is because his long legislative record shows that the actions that he took to protect his family, his own response to a dangerous life threatening situation, are actions that he feels ordinary citizens should not have if they were faced with an identical situation. It has prompted some to ask if the Senator believes his life and personal safety is more valuable than yours or mine. But, this is to be expected from those who believe they can run our lives, raise our kids, and protect our families better than we can.

Reusing Old Coffee Containers

If you are like me, it is difficult to throw away those big plastic coffee cans. They look so darn useful, that it would be a waste to pitch them. Thankfully, I have found a use that makes my prepping a little more efficient and cost effective.

Oatmeal packets have become one of my food storage staples because they are tasty and cheap. The shelf life is typically around a year and a half after purchase which is long enough for me because I rotate constantly. However, I know that by limiting the oxygen and keeping the temperature constant I can extend the shelf life substantially. Scientists at Brigham Young University found stored 28 year old oats which were still perfectly edible. The story can be found here. I do not believe my storage idea will guarantee edible oats in 28 years, but I do believe they will be edible far longer than a year and a half from now.

I limit the oxygen by removing the individual packets from the box and placing them in a gallon storage bag. Including an oxygen absorber or using a food sealer is even better for long term storage purposes. I then place the bag in the coffee can which will limit the light and also limit the oxygen even more with the 'Flavor Seal' lid.

Obviously, your coffee cans can be used to store any food item you would like. I chose to store my oatmeal because the packets fit nicely into the containers. What do you do with your coffee containers?

Police here have less than a sunny-side-up view of a local Denny’s.
The Belleville police chief banned his officers from the eatery while on duty after several detectives were told they couldn’t carry their guns in the restaurant, but Denny’s says the incident stemmed from a misunderstanding.
The incident began about 10 a.m. Tuesday when five Belleville detectives went into the Denny’s at 1130 South Illinois Street, ordered food and began to eat. The detectives had badges on their belts or on chains around their necks, but they weren’t in uniform.
Belleville Capt. Donald Sax said restaurant manager David Rice then approached and told one of the detectives that a diner had complained about seeing one of the detectives carrying a gun.
Even though the detective told Rice all at the table were police officers, Rice insisted the detectives take their guns back out to their cars, Sax said.
According to Sax, Rice then told the officers that it is company policy to allow only uniformed officers to carry their guns into a restaurant and that a sign on the door stated that policy.
The officers all got up to leave, refusing to pay for their meal. As they were leaving, Sax said a Denny’s general manager, Michael Van, approached the group. He told them Rice was wrong and it was fine for them to stay and to keep their guns.
The detectives, whom Sax described as “embarrassed” by the incident, decided to leave anyway. Sax said the detectives made a point to check the door on their way out.
“There was no sign on the door (regarding firearms),” Sax said. “They all looked for it.”
Belleville Police Chief William Clay later issued an order to his troops, banning them from eating at that Denny’s when they are on duty or when they’re off duty and still in uniform. Off-duty and out of uniform, officers can eat where they want.
Belleville police also issued a press release, naming the managers and pinning the incident on “political stupidness.”
“This was an insult, a slap in the face to those detectives and to all of the men and women who proudly wear the uniform or badge and serve in law enforcement,” Clay said in the press release.
Of course, officers will still show up if Denny’s calls for some kind of emergency, police said.
The Denny’s managers, Rice and Van, were not available for comment. Corporate spokesperson Liz DiTrapano called the situation “a misunderstanding” and said there is no ban on armed officers.
“Obviously, all law enforcement officers are permitted to carry their firearms in our restaurants,” she said.
Belleville police said they would be following up with Denny’s management about the restaurant’s policies.
At the Belleville restaurant on Wednesday, diners’ views on the incident varied.
John Carrigan, 72, of rural Washington County, Ill., said he understood the concern some diners at Denny’s might have had. “I’d have been scared to see a woman walk in with a gun nowadays with all the shootings,” he said.
But Mike Wieland, 51, of Bluford, Ill., sided with the officers. “The police should be able to carry their weapons everywhere they go,” Wieland said.Margaret Gillerman of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.

Curious to hear points of view on Home Invasions from Anti-Gun population

My only reasons for keeping firearms are for home defense, and some range practice. Let's not argue over what kind of firearms should and should not be legal to keep in the home. That's not my interest here. What I am interested in is the psychology behind keeping a firearm for defense, versus not.

Home invasions are a real threat. In my head, I cannot even imagine the terror of a middle of the night break-in. My family is here. This is our castle. What would I do? It might be a reasonable invader that may simply tie us up and take our replaceable things, or it might be a mad man out for blood or rape. How do I plan for that? I plan for the worse.

Now for you folks that don't have a plan. Is it that you are not worried about it? Think it will never happen? Will deal with it peacfully somehow? Is it simply a matter of principal that guns, no matter what, should not be in the home? How do you rationalize not being able to defend?

Thursday, January 3, 2013

A Massive Electromagnetic Pulse Could Collapse The Economy In A Single Moment

What would you do if all the lights went out and they never came back on? That is a question that the new NBC series “Revolution” asks, but most people have no idea that a similar thing could happen in real life at any moment. A single gigantic electromagnetic pulse over the central United States could potentially fry most of the electronics from coast to coast if it was powerful enough.
This could occur in a couple of different ways. If a powerful nuclear weapon was exploded at a high enough altitude, it could produce an electromagnetic pulse powerful enough to knock out electronics all over the country. Alternatively, a massive solar stormcould potentially cause a similar phenomenon to happen just about anywhere on the planet without much warning. Of course not all EMP events are created equal. An electromagnetic pulse can range from a minor inconvenience to a civilization-killing event. It just depends on how powerful it is. But in the worst case scenario, we could be facing a situation where our electrical grids have been fried, there is no heat for our homes, our computers don’t work, the Internet does not work, our cell phones do not work, there are no more banking records, nobody can use credit cards anymore, hospitals are unable to function, nobody can pump gas, and supermarkets cannot operate because there is no power and no refrigeration. Basically, we would witness the complete and total collapse of the economy. According to a government commission that looked into these things, approximately two-thirds of the U.S. population would die from starvation, disease and societal chaos within one year of a massive EMP attack. It would be a disaster unlike anything we have ever seen before in U.S. history.
Most Americans are totally clueless about what an EMP attack could do to this nation, but the threat is very real. There was even a congressional commission that studied the potential effects of an EMP attack on the United States for eight years…
The US Congress in 2000 established the Congressional Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack. In 2004, the committee produced a 70-page executive summary on the EMP threat, and it issued a final report on the matter in 2008. According to the report, “several potential adversaries have or can acquire the capability to attack the United States with a high-altitude nuclear weapon-generated electromagnetic pulse (EMP). A determined adversary can achieve an EMP attack capability without having a high level of sophistication.”
Dr. William Graham was the chairman of that commission, and he says that an EMP attack could knock the United States back into the 1800s in just a single moment…
An EMP attack “could not only take down power grids, which are fragile anyway in this country, and telecommunications networks, and financial networks, and traffic controls and many other things, but in addition, there is a very close interrelationship among those national infrastructure capabilities,” Graham says.
“So, for example, we need telecommunications to re-establish the power network, and we need the power network to keep telecommunications going for more than a few hours. And we need the financial network to continue to operate to maintain the economy, we need the transportation system, roads, street lights, control systems, to operate just to get people to the failed power, telecommunication and other systems,” he adds.
Life after an EMP attack “would probably be something that you might imagine life to be like around the late 1800s but with several times the population we had in those days, and without the ability of the country to support and sustain all those people,” Graham says. “They wouldn’t have power. Food supplies would be greatly taken out by the lack of transportation, telecommunication, power for refrigeration and so on.”
Unfortunately, very few of us are equipped to survive in such an environment. We have become incredibly dependent on technology, and most Americans would have no idea how to do something as simple as growing their own food. Most people would be in a very serious amount of trouble in a very short period of time.
An article by Mac Slavo detailed some of the things that we could expect in the aftermath of a massive electromagnetic pulse…
The first 24 – 48 hours after such an occurrence will lead to confusion among the general population as traditional news acquisition sources like television, radio and cell phone networks will be non-functional.
Within a matter of days, once people realize the power might not be coming back on and grocery store shelves start emptying, the entire system will begin to delve into chaos.
Within 30 days a mass die off will have begun as food supplies dwindle, looters and gangs turn to violent extremes, medicine can’t be restocked and water pump stations fail.
Are you prepared for such an event?
If not, why not?
And actually, high altitude nuclear explosions and solar storms are not the only things that could produce sizable EMP bursts.
For example, the U.S. military has developed “a directed electromagnetic pulse gun” that can take out all electronics within a limited area. This kind of weapon can be fired from a plane, a cruise missile or even a drone. The following is from a recent WND article…
A pre-programmed cruise missile not too different from a drone has been proven to be capable of blasting out an EMP-type microwave that was able to destroy personal computers and electrical systems inside a building over which it was flying.
The U.S. Air Force and its contractor Boeing have created the High-powered Microwave Advanced Missile Project, or CHAMP, which was just tested over a Utah desert.
Other nations such as Russia and China are busy developing similar weapons. The ability to instantly take out the electronics of the enemy would be a very powerful advantage.
Even North Korea has been working on this kind of technology. According to Newsmax, it is believed that they may have tested a “Super-EMP” weapon back in 2009…
North Korea’s last round of tests, conducted in May 2009, appear to have included a “super-EMP” weapon, capable of emitting enough gamma rays to disable the electric power grid across most of the lower 48 states
As this technology becomes more widespread, it will soon be accessible to just about everyone. You don’t actually need a nuclear weapon to set off a massive electromagnetic pulse. A non-nuclear pulse generator can do the same thing. If you set one off next to a power station you could potentially take out the electrical grid for an entire region.
Terrorist groups and lone wolf crazies could even use portable radio frequency weapons to do a tremendous amount of electromagnetic damage over a more limited area. The following is from a recent articleby F. Michael Maloof…
Such an individual with a penchant for electronics can pull together components from a Radio Shack or electronic store – even order the components off of selected Internet websites – and fashion a radio frequency, or RF, weapon.
As microprocessors become smaller but more sophisticated, they are even more susceptible to an RF pulse. The high power microwave from an RF weapon produces a short, very high power pulse, said to be billions of watts in a nanosecond, or billionths of a second.
This so-called burst of electromagnetic waves in the gigahertz microwave frequency band can melt electrical circuitry and damage integrated circuits, causing them to fail.
Constructing a radio frequency weapon is not that difficult. In fact, you can find instructions for how to build them on the Internet.
People need to realize that we live in a world where technology is absolutely exploding and we are dealing with threats that previous generations never even dreamed of. As the world becomes increasingly unstable, it is inevitable that these kinds of weapons will be used.
It is only a matter of time.
What will life look like after an EMP weapon is used?
That is something to think about.
And we also need to keep watching the sun. It could produce a massive electromagnetic pulse at literally any moment. As I have written aboutpreviously, scientists tell us that it is only a matter of time before we are hit with a technology-crippling solar super storm.
Most people don’t even realize that the massive solar storm of 1859fried telegraph machines all over Europe and North America. If such a storm hit us today, the damage would potentially be in the trillions of dollars. The following is from a recent New York Times article…
A powerful solar (or “geomagnetic”) storm has the potential to simultaneously damage multiple transformers in the electricity grid and perhaps even bring down large sections of it, affecting upwards of a hundred million people in the United States for many months, if not years.
These huge transformers are expensive and difficult to replace, and not many are stockpiled in the United States for an emergency. In the worst case, the impact would be devastating: An outage could cost a few trillion dollars, with full recovery taking years. Not only would parts of the grid be compromised, but telephone networks, undersea cables, satellites and railroads also would be affected.
A 2008 National Academy of Sciences studywarned that “because of the interconnectedness of critical infrastructures in modern society,” the “collateral effects of a longer-term outage” would likely include “disruption of the transportation, communication, banking and finance systems, and government services; the breakdown of the distribution of potable water owing to pump failure; and the loss of perishable foods and medications because of lack of refrigeration.”
By the way, 2013 is the peak of the current solar cycle. So we are moving into a time period when conditions will be very favorable for solar storms.
Let us hope that we are never hit with a massive electromagnetic pulse that is strong enough to take out all of our electronics.
But if it did happen, and all the lights went out for good, what would you do?

U.S. Marine’s Scathing Response to Sen. Feinstein’s Gun Control Proposal: ‘I Am Not Your Subject. I Am the Man Who Keeps You Free’

One U.S. Marine was more than a little displeased with California Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s draconian gun control proposal, which includes an assault weapons ban and provisions on handguns and even “grandfathered weapons.”
The letter, written by U.S. Marine Joshua Boston, was titled “No ma’am” and was first posted on CNN iReport on Dec. 27. The letter has since gone viral and has been shared extensively on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, as it seemingly has resonated with a segment of the American population.
Read Boston’s entire “No ma’am” letter below and then share it with others:

Senator Dianne Feinstein,
I will not register my weapons should this bill be passed, as I do not believe it is the government’s right to know what I own. Nor do I think it prudent to tell you what I own so that it may be taken from me by a group of people who enjoy armed protection yet decry me having the same a crime. You ma’am have overstepped a line that is not your domain. I am a Marine Corps Veteran of 8 years, and I will not have some woman who proclaims the evil of an inanimate object, yet carries one, tell me I may not have one.
I am not your subject. I am the man who keeps you free. I am not your servant. I am the person whom you serve. I am not your peasant. I am the flesh and blood of America.
I am the man who fought for my country. I am the man who learned. I am an American. You will not tell me that I must register my semi-automatic AR-15 because of the actions of some evil man.
I will not be disarmed to suit the fear that has been established by the media and your misinformation campaign against the American public.
We, the people, deserve better than you.
Respectfully Submitted,
Joshua Boston Cpl,
United States Marine Corps
2004-2012

Convert AAA Batteries To AA Batteries With Some Tin Foil

If you run out of AA batteries but have some AAA batteries laying around, you can convert the AAA battery into a AA battery with some tin foil. It got my remote (above) working a treat!
All you need to do is fold up a small piece of tin foil to fit (make up the size difference) at the negative (flat end of the battery with the -) end of the battery. You want enough tin foil to create a firm fit on the battery to ensure both the positive and negative terminals on the device are touching on the positive/negative ends of the battery.
This tip works great at a pinch, but it shouldn’t be considered a permanent solution.

BREAKING: Illinois Bill to Ban All Modern Firearms

UPDATE: Two firearms-related bills—including an assault weapons (and more) ban, gun range regulations and a magazine registration scheme—are now headed for committee. Click here to read the texts.
Press release:
“The ISRA has learned from a credible source that Illinois Senate President John Cullerton [above] will introduce a so called ‘assault weapons’ ban on Wednesday when the legislature returns for its ‘lame duck’ session. Cullerton hopes to ramrod the bill through and get it to Governor Quinn for signature by Friday. If he is successful at doing so, nearly every gun you currently own will be banned and will be subject to confiscation by the Illinois State Police . . .
“Based on what we know about Cullerton’s bill, firearms that would be banned include all semiautomatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns. Pump action shotguns would be banned as well. This would be a very comprehensive ban that would include not only so-called ‘assault weapons’ but also such classics as M1 Garands and 1911-based pistols. There would be no exemptions and no grandfathering. You would have a very short window to turn in your guns to the State Police to avoid prosecution.”
TTAG’s sources tell us there will be two bills: one for semi-automatic rifles, lever guns, shotguns and handguns with certain features (e.g., threaded barrels); and one for ammunition magazine capacity.
Mags would be limited to 10 rounds and owners of existing magazines holding more than 10 rounds would have to register them with the state police.
One [non-ISRA] gun guy on the front lines in the Land of Lincoln tells TTAG that the odds of the bills going through are 50 – 50. He advises gun owners both in and out of state to call Senate President Cullerton at 217 782 2000 and/or find another legislator to pester at ilga.gov.
“If gun owners around the country melt the phone lines in the next three days we can push this thing back . . . that would be a tremendous morale boost ahead of federal legislation.”

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

If you liked the brick rocket stove yesterday, you’re going to love this wood rocket stove!

Watch the video, this is really cool. The sound on the video isn’t the best, but bear with it, as this is a super, super idea and I have never seen it before.
Personally I’m thinking this would work better if you drilled larger holes to begin with, but it works well enough here

This article was written by Tom Chatham and originally published at Project Chesapeake
One of the hardest things to go without when going off grid is refrigeration. Most other operations can be replaced by manual means but keeping food cold or frozen in hot weather is a unique need in modern times. In times past the need for refrigeration was limited because most food was prepared fresh every day and very little was kept for several days due in part to the lack of mechanical cooling. The fast paced lifestyle many now live have led people to depend on frozen or refrigerated food due to the modern day work habits leaving little time for home preparation of food. In times past most women worked in the home all day, so daily preparation of food was a natural occurance. With most women working outside of the home nowadays, the fast preparation of food dominates most kitchens. Even for those that do a lot of cooking from scratch everyday, the use of frozen foods is very convenient.

The ability to raise your own meat, butcher it, and save it for later use on a moments notice has been nothing less than revolutionary in the kitchen. While freezing is not the only way to save foods, it is much easier than other methods for many foods. The biggest problem with frozen foods is the need to keep it frozen at all times. When the power goes out many people lose the contents of their freezers because of lack of electricity. Even after this happens several times most people continue to use the same means to keep their food refrigerated and never give thought to using a different method that would save them that loss and provide them with frozen food and ice no matter how long the power was off.

The use of propane refrigeration is a step above compressor driven units for several reasons. Many absorption refrigeration units can run on 12v, 120v and propane power. A refrigerator that can run on all three, such as the units found in RVs or camper trailers, can give you an edge when the power goes out. You could run it on 120v for normal operations and if the power fails you can switch over to 12v battery power or to a propane tank outside your home. Absorption units are powered by heat so as long as you have a heat source they will continue to cool. Another great thing about these units is the fact that unlike compressor units that have many moving parts that can break or wear out, an absorption unit has no moving parts in the cooling unit.

Absorption freezers use mostly propane, except for a few of the very small units, so having a propane freezer and a large tank can provide you with continuous refrigeration no matter what the weather does to the power lines. With no need for electricity, propane is a natural fit for off grid living. It can be expensive to fill the tank but the minimal amount of infrastructure you need compared to electricity can offset the expense. A bonus when using propane is the fact that you can use the same tank to power a generator, fuel a stove, heat your home, provide light and provide hot water. It is the best all around fuel source for off grid that you can get. Your propane appliances will continue to run when electrical systems may be disabled. The only problem with propane is the fact that you cannot produce it yourself.

A possible replacement for propane in a catastrophic situation would be the use of bio-gas that you can produce yourself. A digester that can produce bio-gas from livestock manure is fairly simple to build and can enable someone with livestock to produce small amounts of gas to provide fuel for refrigeration and possibly cooking. This is a sustainable solution to off grid power that requires minimal equipment.

Another alternative fuel would be wood gas. This is a good all around fuel that you can produce yourself that operates similar to propane. It can be used for many different items such as generators, lighting, refrigeration and even running an automobile. In days past, town gas was produced from coal and provided lighting and cooking gas prior to the advent of natural gas and propane. To run an absorption refrigerator on wood gas would take some experimentation to get the proper adjustments but it can provide you with a non-electric option in a long term catastrophic situation.

A different type of fuel to run an absorption refrigerator is kerosene. Some kerosene units are available today and use a 2.5 gal. tank that will run for about 10 days on a fill. They use a burner found on some types of Aladdin lamps to provide a heat source. With some experimentation it might be possible to run it on alcohol that you produce yourself. This would give you another option in a long term non-electric situation. About 100 gallons of fuel would last you about a year and kerosene will store for up to 10 years giving you plenty of time to use a large supply.

What if something happens to the power grid and electronics and they never return and you don’t have a propane refrigerator or freezer? How would you provide refrigeration even in a limited way? The answer might be an icy ball cooling unit. These units were first produced in the 1920s and are about as simple a cooling unit as you can possibly make. They are filled with ammonia and water and are charged by heating them over a small fire. The unit is removed from the fire and allowed to cool. When it cools enough for the ammonia to begin recombining with the water you place the coolant end inside a chest that contains your food. The unit will cool for about 24 hours then you repeat the process. The factory units that were sold even had a hollow space in the cooling ball that would allow you to freeze a tray of ice. These units require some labor and time every day but they can be homemade and can provide you with refrigeration when nothing else is available.

One other cooling system that operates similar to an icy ball uses Zeolite which is non toxic. Zeolite is used in the self cooling beer kegs that you can now get. A self cooling beer keg will keep 20L of beer at 41 degrees for 12 hours and can be recharged by heating it up. Water is kept in one chamber and Zeolite powder in another. When a valve is opened between them the water vapor which forms in the vacuum migrates to the Zeolite and as it gets absorbed it causes the water to cool in the other chamber. This would be a good project to make at home from scratch and is much safer than an ammonia system.

A simpler cooling device is a watertight metal container that is loaded with items to be refrigerated and lowering it into a shallow well until the bottom few inches of the container is in the well water. The water will keep the food items at the same temperature as the water which stays about 55 degrees year round.

A simple cooling device used in third world countries is the pot in a pot. The bottom few inches of a clay pot is covered with sand then a smaller clay pot is set inside the first one. The area between the two pots are filled with sand to the top. Water is poured into the sand until it is completely saturated then food is placed in the inner pot and a lid is placed on it. Evaporation will cause the inner pot to remain cooler than the outside air helping to preserve the food.

Hopefully this information will provide you with some ideas to think about if the situation prevents the use of compressor driven refrigeration in the future.

Monday, December 31, 2012

How To Make A Brick Rocket Stove For Around $6

All you need to do is get down to your local home depot and purchase 16 bricks and that’s it! Check out the video and see how easy it is to build.
Given the benefits of a rocket stove, I think it is an excellent idea to have some spare bricks stored at home. They can be stacked out of the way somewhere and then, if you are ever without power, you can build the stove in around five minutes and be cooking within 20 minutes. Very simple and very effective, just how I like it!
If you want to make a larger stove – just get more bricks!

The FISA Debate Proves That Congress Doesn’t Care About Your Privacy

Online privacy was a big ticket item in 2012. More and more people are becoming concerned with just how much of their personal lives are available online for everyone to see. In fact, there’s been a push to adopt certain standards like Do Not Track to better protect the privacy of those who use the Internet day in and day out. Of course, in the end, none of that matters.
You see, there’s a bill currently up for renewal in Congress that doesn’t care one little bit about your privacy. In fact, it revels in the idea that the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unwarranted search and seizure, doesn’t apply to online communication. Now this bill – FISA – is going to be renewed for 2013, and there’s next to nothing you can do about it. Should the Fourth Amendment apply to online communications?Let us know in the comments.
For a bit of background, FISA, or the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, is a bill that was enacted on October 25, 1978. The initial intent of the bill was to outline the powers of domestic spy agencies when collecting information, both physical and digital, on foreign powers. The bill limited the power of spy agencies to collect information on Americans, but all of that changed with the Patriot Act of 2001 and the Protect America Act of 2007.
Since the expansion of the bill, many people have come to question the true intention of FISA. Some argue that it’s being used to collect information on Americans without a warrant while others argue that’s an important tool in stopping terrorism. Both sides in the argument are right in their own ways, but there are important concerns that FISA needs to address in the digital age.
Senators brought forth a number of amendments that would directly address these concerns by making FISA more transparent while protecting the privacy of Americans. Sen. Ron Wyden, friend of the Internet, brought forth an amendment that would make the NSA more transparent on how many Americans have been impacted thus far by the warrantless spying program. For their part, the agency claims that there’s no domestic spying program in place, but NSA whistleblowers insist that there is.
Another amendment was brought forth by Sen. Rand Paul. He calls it the “Fourth Amendment Protection Act.” The amendment would bring Fourth Amendment protections into the digital age as it would protect Americans from having their data pilfered from third parties like telecoms and email providers. Here’s the relevant text from The New American:

(a) Except as provided for in subsection (b), the government is prohibited from obtaining or seeking to obtain information related to a person or group of persons held by a third-party in a system of records, and no such information or evidence shall be deemed admissible in a criminal prosecution in a court of law.
(1) “System of records” shall be defined as any group of records from which information is retrieved by the name of the individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular associated with the individual.
(b) The government may obtain, and a court may deem admissible, information or evidence related to a person held by a third-party in a system of records provided that:
(1) The individual whose name or identification information the government is using to access the information provides express and informed consent to that search; or
(2) The government obtains a Warrant, upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

In short, Paul’s bill would extend Fourth Amendment protections to things that you “own” in the digital space. Those in law have battled over this issue with some agreeing that things you create online, even status updates and emails, are yours; while others argue that a person has no ownership over something like a “Tweet.”
Sen. Jeff Merkley proposed an amendment that would make the government release opinions from the secret FISA court that decides on who can be wiretapped and who can’t. Not all rulings would be made transparent, but rather only those that contain important interpretations of FISA so Americans can know how the government is using FISA.
Finally, Sen. Patrick Leahy, sponsor of the pro-privacy ECPA update, proposed an amendment that would sunset the privacy infringing amendments to FISA after four years. The current renewal up for debate would add five more years onto the amendments, while Leahy’s amendment would decrease that time for three years. It’s not a major improvement, but at least it’s something. Do you think these amendments are good additions to FISA? Should any of them be seriously considered?Let us know in the comments.
Despite their good intentions, none of these amendments will make into the final FISA. The EFF reports that the Senate systematically shot down every one of the amendments on Thursday night. In fact, the amendments were rejected by an overwhelming number of senators on both sides of aisle. The Hill reports that Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein disregarded many of the amendments claiming that FISA is already subject to “rigorous oversight.” Wyden responded by saying:

“I think, when you talk about oversight, and you can’t even get a rough estimate of how many law-abiding Americans had their communications swept up by this law … the idea of robust oversight, really ought to be called toothless oversight if you don’t have that kind of information.”

Feinstein argued back that she has never sen “a government official engaged in a willful effort to circumvent or violate the law” during her time on the Intelligence Committee. She did, however, state that there have been a “few incidents of non-compliance,” but she chalked those up to “human error or technical defect.”
Putting the final nail in the argument’s coffin, Feinstein pulled out the terrorism card to support the need for an unamended FISA going forward. She said that there have been over 100 arrests of terrorists over the past four years, and said that a number of those arrests were the direct result of surveillance under FISA. To change the way intelligence is gathered would presumably open the U.S. to more attacks.
It should be noted that FISA is just one part of the digital privacy landscape. The Senate has already approved ECPA, or the Electronics Communications Privacy Act. The bill would require law enforcement to obtain a warrant when collecting emails of domestic citizens. The bill would do nothing, however, if the email was sent from a U.S. citizen to a friend overseas. The NSA has jurisdiction over that and FISA allows them to gather all that information without a shred of transparency. If you believe whistleblowers, the spy agency is even collecting emails sent to friends in the U.S.
FISA was pushed through Friday in an effort to quickly pass the bill before the bill expired on Dec. 31. The amendments were most likely rejected as the majority of Congress is too focused on the current fiscal cliff negotiations instead of debating a privacy bill.
Regardless, there will come a time when digital privacy needs to be debated. It should have happened during the FISA debate, but now it must wait until another chance arises. 2013 may just prove to be that chance as more privacy infringing bills will undoubtedly pop up.

I jinxed myself. On Friday, while my boyfriend and I were getting our community acupuncture treatments from the very wonderful local acupuncturist Eric Kerr, I said, "We're so lucky; we never get colds or anything!" Yep, famous last words. So Saturday, I wake up with runny nose, fuzzy head and a bit of the aches. You'd have thought I would've learned my lesson, but no...so when I said to my friend at brunch on Saturday, "it'll probably be gone by tomorrow", you can imagine: it only got worse the next day. Fast forward to today (three full days of sickness later) and I'm feeling much better, thank goodness.

Being my pitta-self, I didn't just drink a little tea and hope for the best. I went after this cold with the full arsenal of my holistic cold-fighting wisdom. I've had:

*yoga postures like baddha konasana with my king size pillow behind my back

*acupressure points (genius for my headache)

and the hardest to fit in:

*REST!

Yes, I took the entire day off yesterday and stayed home, mostly in bed.

I was unproductive (almost completely) and it was a challenge.

What I keep coming back to is this:

"What is this cold trying to teach me?"

I don't think it was telling me to clean up my diet-- that seemed pretty good.

Or to exercise more or differently- that's all well.

I think what it was yelling at me was...

"Dang, girl!!! Get some rest!!"

Probably close to three weeks without a day off: not a recipe for health, especially during the change of season, even if I do absolutely love my work.

So I am resting. Trying to take it easy and not take on more than is reasonable with a not-quite-super-human amount of energy.

It's been on my to-do list to carve out time for a regular day off away from emails and my phone, but it had never seemed to reach the top of the list. Now, it's there: right at the top...with a little note next to it ("or else!") ;)

If you haven't had a day off in weeks, learn from my misfortune: get some rest and turn off your phone. You'll thank me when you're not up to your elbows in kleenex.

Here are two of the recipes that let me survive my day of sickness that I just couldn't take off...

Worth-Its-Weight-In-Gold

Gold Wellness Drink

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 a lemon, chopped in half

1+ tsp fresh grated ginger

1 pint hot water

...once tea is cool enough to drink, add:

1 teaspoon + honey

(if just making a cup, halve this recipe)

Broth of Life Soup

(estimations)

6 stalks celery

1 bunch swiss chard

2 beets + greens

3 carrots

1 bunch of fresh parsley

1 bunch of fresh thyme

2 inches of fresh ginger, sliced

5 large cloves of garlic

small piece of kombu

water to cover

--simmer above ingredients covered for 2 hours--

strain & save. Drink as you like to keep you breathing. (Honestly, it's great for congestion)

For a meal if you have the appetite, cook 1/4 c of basmati rice in 3 cups broth.

If you've had too much ginger tea and you're starting to overheat, top your broth with chopped cilantro.

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Are we gearing up toward Nazi Germany? This is abuse of power. Read on....

In response to a recent increase in crime, Paragould Mayor Mike Gaskill and Police Chief Todd Stovall offered residents at a town hall meeting Thursday night at West View Baptist Church what could be considered an extreme solution — armed officers patrolling the streets on foot.

Stovall told the group of almost 40 residents that beginning in 2013, the department would deploy a new street crimes unit to high crime areas on foot to take back the streets.

"[Police are] going to be in SWAT gear and have AR-15s around their neck," Stovall said. "If you're out walking, we're going to stop you, ask why you're out walking, check for your ID."

Stovall said while some people may be offended by the actions of his department, they should not be.

"We're going to do it to everybody," he said. "Criminals don't like being talked to."

"They may not be doing anything but walking their dog," he said. "But they're going to have to prove it."

Stovall said the foot patrols would begin on the east side of town and would eventually snake into the Pecan Grove area.

He said the police would follow where crime was taking place in order to snuff it out.

Normally, police would not stop individuals for simply walking on the street, but Stovall said the level of crime in certain areas and concerns from residents gave his officers the right to institute the actions announced at the town hall event.

"This fear is what's given us the reason to do this. Once I have stats and people saying they're scared, we can do this," he said. "It allows us to do what we're fixing to do."

"To ask you for your ID, I have to have a reason," he said. "Well, I've got statistical reasons that say I've got a lot of crime right now, which gives me probable cause to ask what you're doing out. Then when I add that people are scared...then that gives us even more [reason] to ask why are you here and what are you doing in this area."

Stovall said he did not consult an attorney before announcing his plans to combat crime. He even remained undaunted when comparing his proposed tactics with martial law, explaining that "I don't know that there's ever been a difference" between his proposals and martial law.

Stovall said task force members would not even be required to be looking for a specific suspect before stopping citizens on the street.

"Anyone that's out walking, because of the crime and the fear factor, [could be stopped]," he said.

Should an individual not produce identification, Stovall said his officers would not back down. Individuals who do not produce identification when asked could be charged with obstructing a governmental operation, according to Stovall.

"I'm hoping we don't run across [any] of that," Stovall said. "Will there be people who buck us? There may be. But we have a right to be doing what we're doing. We have a zero-tolerance. We are prepared to throw your hind-end in jail, OK? We're not going to take a lot of flack."

On Friday, however, Gaskill retreated from the severity of the plan he and Stovall offered to citizens at the town hall.

"The only people who are really going to be impacted by this are mostly the unknowns," Gaskill said.

The mayor said the street crimes unit would not be positioned to cause problems for law-abiding residents.

"We just want to make a presence out there for the criminal element," Gaskill said. "And we want to make a presence for the people who are concerned and give them a sense of security."

Gaskill added he was not concerned about potential profiling by the police department. Even though Stovall had said police would enter neighborhoods with the highest crime rates, Gaskill said officers would respond to where they received calls.

"It would be based on where people have called us and said things are going on in our neighborhood," he said.

Gaskill made clear Friday that when residents called about problems in their neighborhoods, they needed to provide police with information.

"Give us a description — what kinds of clothes they're wearing, [license] plate number. We'll be looking for descriptions," he said.

City Attorney Allen Warmath echoed Gaskill's statements on Friday.

"It is my understanding that if they get a call in an area and they go to an area because of some calls of suspicious activity, they'll make contact," Warmath said.

Warmath said while he had not directly spoken to Stovall, he understood that the street crimes unit would actually be less confrontational than Stovall let on.

"If they have a call that there's some problems in the area, they're at least going to talk to you," he said. "Maybe that person walking their dog saw something. It gives them some information and some leads to find out what's going on."

As for having IDs, he said citizens wouldn't have to worry about that, either. He said the police would not arrest residents solely for failing to produce identification when asked.

Attorney Curtis Hitt of the law firm of Hitt and Kidd said officers were allowed to engage in "consensual questioning" with citizens, though if any circumstances arose that led to an arrest, a judge would have to look at the "totality" of those circumstances.

"The bottom line is it would have to be determined on a case by case basis," he said.

Hitt said he had a high regard for Stovall and the Paragould police. He said he felt their intentions were in the right place, which he believed was preventing crime and making Paragould a safe community.

"At the same time, as an attorney who reads police reports and keeps up with the law, I certainly will be careful of that for any of my clients."

Thursday's town hall meeting was the second of four meetings Paragould officials will host to discuss crime statistics in different parts of town. Officials will meet with residents Tuesday at Center Hill Church of Christ and Thursday at the Paragould Community Center. Both meetings begin at 7 p.m.

Search This Blog

Moneyline

Subscribe To My Blog

Followers

Advertise On My Blog

Donate To My Survival Blog

Affiliate Disclosure

I wish to be fully transparent with my readers so I want you to know that I will discuss a variety of products/services on this blog. My blog contains affiliate links. If you follow an affiliate link and go on to purchase that product or service, I will be paid a small commission, however your cost will be the same (and quite possibly less if I’m highlighting a promotion). Your support will assist me in keeping my blog fresh with great content.